Cole Ragans Injury Update: When Will Royals SP Return?

The lefty last pitched for the Royals on June 5. How much longer will he be out?

Matt Burke

Last Updated: June 25, 2025 4:43 PM EDT • 3 minute read

Cole Ragans Injury Update When Will Be Back Return — Pictured: Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans (55) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Photo by: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals will be without the services of ace Cole Ragans for an extended period of time. Ragans landed on the 15-day IL with a left rotator cuff strain on June 11. Many Royals fans and fantasy baseball owners are currently asking when Ragans will return and be back on the mound. Below, we will deliver an injury update and dish out a potential return date based on all of the current information.

🚑 When will Cole Ragans return and be back with Royals?

Ragans has pitched for the Royals just once since mid-May. This is his second stint on the IL this season, as he missed a chunk of time earlier in the year with a left groin strain.

This current injury is a rotator cuff strain. It is a mild injury and will not require surgery or injection, barring any setbacks. Ragans will not throw for a full month and will be re-evaluated in early July.

Assuming all goes well, Ragans will begin a throwing progression around that time. It will then take a few more weeks for him to ramp up again, and he will likely make a couple rehab starts for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Given that timeline, late July or early August looks to be the earliest we could see Ragans back on the mound for the Royals. Here is a look at Kansas City’s schedule around that time.

Sunday, July 27: Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals
Monday, July 28: Atlanta Braves at Kansas City Royals
Tuesday, July 29: Atlanta Braves at Kansas City Royals
Wednesday, July 30: Atlanta Braves at Kansas City Royals
Friday, Aug. 1: Kansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays

Ragans is 2-3 with a 5.18 ERA in 10 starts this season. He has struck out 76 batters on the year. Last season, Ragans went 11-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 32 appearances. He struck out 223 batters on the campaign.

“I want to be out there,” Ragans told MLB.com's Anne Rogers. “I haven’t had the best year so far, so I’m itching to get back out there. But you also can’t rush something like this. It could be a heck of a lot worse. I’m trying to take it day by day. That’s our motto here, which feeds right into it. I’m going to be the biggest cheerleader in the dugout and try and help these guys any way I can."

⏳ How long will Cole Ragans be out for?

All told, Ragans could miss around two months of action. A solid comp for a player with this type of injury is current Milwaukee Brewer and former New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes. While with the Yankees in 2023, Cortes suffered a rotator cuff strain and wound up missing 67 days between starts.

Ragans last pitched on June 5. If he were to miss 67 days like Cortes, he would return on Aug. 11 of this year.

💰 Royals betting odds

The Royals are hovering around .500 and battling for an American League Wild Card spot. Matt Quatraro’s club has long-shot World Series odds of +10000.

Our best MLB betting sites show that Ragans opened the season with AL Cy Young odds of +900. Only Detroit’s Tarik Skubal and Boston’s Garrett Crochet had lower odds.

Written by:
Matt Burke

Matt Burke is a veteran sports journalist with expertise in sports betting content. He is a former Evergreen Managing Editor. Prior to that, Matt founded MetroBet - a digital and print sports betting platform for Metro US Newspapers (now AMNY). He also served as the Executive Sports Editor for Metro Newspapers, which had outlets in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Matt has covered Super Bowls and Final Fours and his work has appeared in the past for Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, the Eagle Tribune, Gloucester Daily Times and Newburyport Daily News. Matt is a graduate of UConn (Go Huskies!), where he earned a degree in journalism. His favorite time of year to place bets is right before the start of the NFL season, where he can't help but sprinkle on every single team's season win total. He also enjoys live betting each and every NFL Sunday.